Our life living off the land in our log cabin, breathing fresh mountain air, and getting back to basics.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

A Sunflower, A Bursting Heart & Mushrooms

This bright and cheery post is for my family & friends in central and south Florida who are getting soaked and blown around by Tropical Storm Isaac. I hope all are safe and secure!

This is my first sunflower bloom, started by seed. It is not very tall, about 2 foot, but a new bloom, spirited with new life...the first of many to come. We have another row that is beginning to bud with blooms that are intended to be about 5'...I doubt they will get that tall, but I believe they will be bigger, taller blooms. Below is the sequence of blooming from fully open back to the bud. It took 11 days from the first bud to this bloom; I was surprised that it took that long...regardless, the process of unfolding is fascinating!

Mountain Man discovered this beauty in our woods the other day, a most interesting bush called the Bursting Heart Burning Bush. These are the flowers, they don't bloom into anything else (at least that is what I have learned so far about it). Intriguing plant, visually spellbinding in a way, and the name is enticing, especially if you didn't know what it looks like. I will have to find out how to trim and nurture the bush, as the buds are not as full on the bush as I think they could be; there are pictures of these bushes with buds covering it. It's such a distinctive fall blooming plant! I am happy we have it!

And these are the mushrooms Mountain Man found while hunting (mushrooms) today...tender, sweet, mushroomy deliciousness (there are mostly hedgehogs, the bigger ones, and a few chanterelle). We sauteed them with a little butter and parsley, and ate them with grilled steak, baked potato and young zucchini grilled whole (fresh from the garden). YUM!

This is the underside of the hedgehog mushroom...

...and the top.

If you have never tasted wild mushrooms, I suggest you try it. They are delectable and different from what you can buy in the grocery store. Be adventurous! Take a tasty dive into the world of wild mushrooms, if you like mushrooms, you will be really happy you did! If you don't like mushrooms, disregard this suggestion:)

This is the other wild mushroom Mountain Man found, a monster that must weigh 2 lbs! We are still studying the edibility of it, but our first research shows it is edible (he will be the tester though, as always)!

I hope you have enjoyed this cheer-filled (and fungus filled, but that is meant to be a positive, LOL...that means Laugh Out Loud) post!

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise

Loved the photos of the sunflower and the Bursting Heart flower...looks like mushroom harvesting is in full swing...when I showed Donald the large mushroom, you know what he said..."are you crazy?". On TV yesterday, heard a word that I had not used in a long time and was a Landry creation..."linner". Do you remember? How about "lupper"? Hugs!

Patti, we can harvest mushrooms almost all year round! I love it! We have so many that we are now drying some to have in winter! I wonder how someone becomes allergic to mushrooms, that would be a real bummer!

Ha ha dad, I had forgotten about those words, but sure do remember them! I can hear Donald now:)

About Me

There are moments in life when you are reminded of how precious every moment is, and how important it is to love what you live. A favorite quote by Mark Twain “twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones that you did” was posted in my office. Following several undesirable events occurring in my life recently, most significantly my younger brother passing away unexpectedly, I knew it was time to “sail away from the safe harbor” (more of the same quote).
So my retired husband (best friend/confidant/Mountain Man) and I decided we wanted to go to the place we loved most, our log cabin in the Smoky Mountains, and “live off the land”. Time to…Simplify…Explore…Appreciate…Discover…Learn… Grow…
So I resigned from my job and here we are. I am recording the adventure in this blog. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I know I will.